Dr. Dana Launer, skilled surgeon, dies at 62

Dana Launer loved a challenge, was good with his hands and enjoyed taking things apart and putting them back together.

As a surgeon specializing in complicated intestinal diseases, he saved many lives and improved patients’ quality of life. As a woodworking hobbyist, he created or restored beautiful clocks, including an antique piece known as a Vienna regulator clock.

A former chief of staff at Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla, Dr. Launer didn’t believe in wasting time and always sought to be active and productive. “Dana was always doing it all … he was a great surgeon, a gourmet cook, a handyman … ” said his wife, Elaine. “He was never idle. He loved throwing dinner parties and entertaining and he enjoyed woodworking and tinkering in the garage.”

Dr. Launer died Monday in San Diego after a long illness, his wife said. He was 62.

A native of New York, Dr. Launer started a private surgical practice in La Jolla in 1979. He was part of the original Scripps Memorial trauma team in 1984 and served in several medical staff leadership positions including chief of surgery and director of medical staff affairs. He was chief of staff in 2006-07.

“He saved many a life and helped many people both surgically and with his counsel,” said Gary Fybel, Scripps Memorial chief executive. “He quietly did many favors and good deeds. His whole being was to help people.”

Dr. Launer, who specialized in colon and rectal cancer, diverticulitis, ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease, was the first surgeon to perform a minimally invasive laparoscopic colon resection in 1991, Fybel said. The procedure reduced the hospitalization for the major surgery from seven to two days, allowing patients to return to normal activities much earlier than with conventional surgery.

Dana P. Launer was born March 29, 1948, in New York City, to Ruth Barbara and Leo Judah Launer. He grew up in Queens, N.Y., and earned a degree in chemistry from Queens College of the City University of New York.

“He lived in a very Jewish neighborhood and every summer attended Camp Columbia, a Jewish camp in upstate New York,” his wife said. “At one point, he thought he wanted to be a cantor … he had a beautiful voice … (but) he needed to be doing things with his hands. Surgery was his calling.”

Dr. Launer completed general surgical training at North Shore University Hospital of Cornell University Medical Center and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Institute, both in New York. He was a special fellow in the department of colon and rectal surgery at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio in 1978.

He also used his surgical skills as a volunteer at the Veterinary Specialty Hospital in Sorrento Valley. “He had a strong collaborative relationship with us,” said Keith Richter, hospital director. “He personally trained us to do some innovative (surgical) procedures and we co-authored several papers (for veterinary journals.)”

Dr. Launer, who was divorced twice, was devoted to his family and regularly wore photo buttons of his children. “He used to joke that I was his third and final wife,” Elaine Launer said. His first wife was Pat Launer. He had three children with his second wife, Nancye.

Dr. Launer is survived by his wife of 13 years, Elaine of Carmel Valley; two daughters, Morgan of San Diego, Kathleen Hasey of Los Angeles; two sons, Hunter of Davis and Spencer of Seattle; two brothers, Ivan and Lee of New York.